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16CVs Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2004 Posts: 4024 Location: Redwood City, California
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:52 pm Post subject: |
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Now do that with Iced tea and I'll applaud ! ! ! I'd be at your van the whole time .
Stacy _________________ 1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread. |
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shizzon Samba Member
Joined: July 25, 2006 Posts: 596 Location: Boulder, CO
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:03 am Post subject: |
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jkidd152 wrote: |
Check out this cooler...
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That looks like a sweet setup. Not to take away from the whole "having a tap on the outside of the vehicle" thing, but for those of us who aren't ready for that kind of commitment yet, I wonder if you could make a complete self-contained setup with that cooler?
I'm thinking along the lines of drilling a hole in the side for the shank, and using a small CO2 charger like this
http://morebeer.com/products/co2-injector-w1-cartridge.html
_________________ 1989 Bostig Syncro Westy |
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climberjohn Samba Member
Joined: January 11, 2005 Posts: 1840 Location: Portland Orygun
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:25 am Post subject: |
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John,
You are a mad genius AND a great beer meister!
Seriously looking for a campsite next to you at Mogfest this weekend.
-CJ _________________ '86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often. |
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Syncroincity Samba Member
Joined: April 15, 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: New York City
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slobrewer Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2013 Posts: 65 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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Those CO2 injectors work in a pinch but they're a bit of a hassle to get right. They joy of draft beer is just being able to open the faucet and perfectly carbonated beer flows out. If you're tight on space I highly recommend the mini regulator setups from Williams Brewing:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/MINI-DUAL-C02-REGULATOR-P2650C148.aspx
They work like a charm and you set them and forget them. They're not cheap but they are worth the money. _________________ White 1988 Vanagon Westfalia (Automatic, A/C, solar, aux battery, 15" GW wheels, 8' Fiamma awning, 63 qt. Edgestar fridge, homebrew on tap) |
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shizzon Samba Member
Joined: July 25, 2006 Posts: 596 Location: Boulder, CO
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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I don't find the CO2 cartridges to be a problem, as long as you start with a beer that's properly carbonated, it's simple to give a little squirt of co2 as needed.
That said, for the ultimate in hands off operation, a full tank is nice... I was just trying to think of a completely contained way to make that work with one of those 5 gal cooler things as shown in this thread. _________________ 1989 Bostig Syncro Westy |
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slobrewer Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2013 Posts: 65 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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shizzon wrote: |
I was just trying to think of a completely contained way to make that work with one of those 5 gal cooler things as shown in this thread. |
Take a look at the link I posted. With the smaller cartridges the entire thing fits right into a small cooler. It takes up very little space and lets you set an exact pressure and forget it till the keg or the gas are empty. _________________ White 1988 Vanagon Westfalia (Automatic, A/C, solar, aux battery, 15" GW wheels, 8' Fiamma awning, 63 qt. Edgestar fridge, homebrew on tap) |
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shizzon Samba Member
Joined: July 25, 2006 Posts: 596 Location: Boulder, CO
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Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:55 am Post subject: |
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Ahh... I see. I thought that was just a tiny regulator for a normal size tank. Agreed, that would be a sick setup for a small enclosed space! _________________ 1989 Bostig Syncro Westy |
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slobrewer Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2013 Posts: 65 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, as promised I've written up the way I installed a 1.75 gallon setup in my Westy in the cabinet after removing the fridge. All told I needed the following parts:
5 gallon bucket
5 gallon bucket lid
2 bucket styrofoam cooler inserts
1.75 gallon keg (available from Williams Brewing)
Beer faucet
Beer shank (preferably the shortest you can get, about 2" long)
Beer nut, tailpiece, and washer
~8' of 3/16" ID beer line
Beer quick disconnect with threaded connector assembly
Williams Brewing Mini-CO2 regulator with CO2 cartridge and gas line with quick disconnect
Much of that can be seen below:
I started by drilling a 1" diameter hole in the vent block out plate I had installed and then mounted the shank:
Then I prepared the bucket. I had to use two of the styrofoam bucket inserts because they tapered too much to fit a keg in there. So I cut the wider top half off of two of them. I put one lid piece in the bottom and saved the other lid piece to put on the top. Here you can see the keg sitting in there:
Drill a hole in the lid and foam lid big enough to thread through the beer line:
The transfer your beer from your larger keg to the 1.75 gallon keg. Here you can see me doing a transfer under pressure with a jumper connection. That prevents foaming and oxidation. I put the target get on a scale and I've tared the scale with the keg filled with water to the target amount I want to take. Then I just transfer and bleed pressure off the target keg to keep the beer flowing until the scale reads zero.
Drop your keg into your bucket and hook up the gas and set your pressure to whatever you typically use (I do about 10-12 PSI.)
Add ice and close her up:
I ran the beer line to the shank and through into the cabinet. I mounted the block off plate with the shank back into the vent hole. Sorry, I didn't get a good picture of that step. The whole bucket easily fits into the storage cabinet with plenty of space for other things:
When you get to camp just pop the beer quick disconnect onto the keg and pour away:
In that picture I'm pouring a nice 3.9% ABV dry stout I brewed a couple of weeks ago.
With this setup the 1.75 gallon keg easily fits in there. If you switch up to a larger bucket typically used for fermentation (6+ gallons) you can fit in a 2.5 gallon keg.
Dave. _________________ White 1988 Vanagon Westfalia (Automatic, A/C, solar, aux battery, 15" GW wheels, 8' Fiamma awning, 63 qt. Edgestar fridge, homebrew on tap) |
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MacDude Samba Member
Joined: July 26, 2014 Posts: 101 Location: Bonny Doon
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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I can't believe that no one has replied to this since you posted it.
This is freakin' awesome!!!
Beats the heck out of my insulated Growler... _________________ '84 Wolfsburg Westfalia
'90 White Multivan (currently not running) |
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drftsub Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2014 Posts: 21
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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I now have another project to add to the list. this is epic.. well done. _________________ 85 Westy
Subaru Turbo Power! |
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slobrewer Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2013 Posts: 65 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:30 am Post subject: |
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MacDude wrote: |
Beats the heck out of my insulated Growler... |
Hey, don't bag on the insulated growlers. I own several of those and they're great for the casual get together at the beach on last minute notice. The only downside with this kegging approach is the setup and clean up required. _________________ White 1988 Vanagon Westfalia (Automatic, A/C, solar, aux battery, 15" GW wheels, 8' Fiamma awning, 63 qt. Edgestar fridge, homebrew on tap) |
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atomatom Samba Member
Joined: May 15, 2012 Posts: 1867 Location: in an 84 Westy or Bowen Island, BC
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:15 am Post subject: |
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That mini regulator is nice, but not cheap. I have a 5lb and a 20lb tank, and want to attempt some kind of beer camping next year - although I'm not sure I'd make it permanent - and I still have my fridge in.
I think the must-have part in this setup is the mini keg in the bucket full of ice. I want all the gear, but my list is long.
slobrewer wrote: |
The transfer your beer from your larger keg to the 1.75 gallon keg. Here you can see me doing a transfer under pressure with a jumper connection. That prevents foaming and oxidation. I put the target get on a scale and I've tared the scale with the keg filled with water to the target amount I want to take. Then I just transfer and bleed pressure off the target keg to keep the beer flowing until the scale reads zero.
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I'm pretty sure of this, but to clarify, you're jumping the beer-out on the large keg to the beer-out on the small keg. I like the scale trick for keeping it all under pressure. _________________ 84 Vanagon Westy, 1.9L, California raised but defected to Canada. |
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slobrewer Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2013 Posts: 65 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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atomatom wrote: |
I'm pretty sure of this, but to clarify, you're jumping the beer-out on the large keg to the beer-out on the small keg. I like the scale trick for keeping it all under pressure. |
Yup, beer out to beer out. That ensures the keg fills from the bottom. Having a jumper like that around is useful whenever you need to do keg to keg transfers. _________________ White 1988 Vanagon Westfalia (Automatic, A/C, solar, aux battery, 15" GW wheels, 8' Fiamma awning, 63 qt. Edgestar fridge, homebrew on tap) |
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shagginwagon83 Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016 Posts: 3794 Location: VA/TN
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 7:03 am Post subject: Re: Draft beer in a Vanagon! |
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I think I'm going to convert my Westy's flu vent to this for some parties. Key is to make it water tight! _________________ Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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khughes Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2013 Posts: 747 Location: Phoenix AZ
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 4:14 pm Post subject: Re: Draft beer in a Vanagon! |
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shagginwagon83 wrote: |
I think I'm going to convert my Westy's flu vent to this for some parties. Key is to make it water tight! |
Just let us know where you're going to park it Oh, and make it double IPA _________________ '86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin) |
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